America and power games in Asia

It appears that the third layer game has far reaching implications for the power play in East Asia, given it is out of the desire of ASEAN for its centrality purpose. RCEP seems to suggest that it will be difficult for any power to unilaterally act to attempt to purposefully exclude any important regional players. This is particularly noteworthy given the proceedings of other economic negotiations, particularly with some exclusivity.

The regional economic links and further integration is likely to be a central feature of future development in the region that will shape the eventual regional institutions and the attitudes of individual countries towards some difficult issues, including disputes among countries.